GRINNELL, Iowa — The Grinnell men lost to Beloit in
an 86-85 heartbreaker on Thursday night in front of a capacity
crowd at the college's brand-new Darby Gym. Thursday's game marked
the first regular season NCAA Division III game to be televised
nationally by the ESPN family of networks, shown on
ESPN2.
Grinnell senior guard Matt Brown started the game off with
an electrifying 3-pointer that ignited the crowd of 1,250
spectators. The Pioneers opened up a 10-2 lead three and a half
minutes into the game, but fell behind 32-22 with 6:31 left in the
first half. Grinnell then went on a 13-3 run to tie the game at
35-35 on a Doug Ticus layup with 39 seconds left in the
half.
Beloit led 39-38 at intermission and held a 56-47 advantage
at the 14:40 mark of the second half. Grinnell once again tied the
game at 66-66 with 7:18 to play on a Trey Raney free-throw and took
its first lead of the second half at 79-78 with 2:57 to play after
a Paul Nordlund 3-pointer. After the Pioneers went up 84-82 with
1:28 remaining in regulation, Belot outscored Grinnell 4-1 to
finish the game. A layup by Beloit's Nick Hendry proved to be the
difference-maker. A desperation 3-point try by Ticus at the buzzer
hit the backboard and the rim but misssed as time
expired.
Senior guard Eric Walsh led the Grinnell attack with 16
points on 4-for-10 shooting, including three 3-pointers. Walsh also
went 5-of-7 at the free-throw line. Junior Paul Nordlund added 13
points, nine rebounds and five blocks. Junior guard Toby Carlson
notched 11 points, two rebounds and two assists. Senior guards Matt
Brown and Trey Raney each tallied nine points, while first-year
forward Aden Stinebrickner-Kauffman chipped in with six points and
eight rebounds.
Grinnell shot 29 percent (28 of 96) from the floor, 13 of 52
(25 percent) from 3-point land and 16 of 23 (70 percent) from the
charity stripe. The Pioneer defense forced 32 Beloit turnovers as
16 players saw court time.